One of my most meaningful hospice relationships came late into my Athena journey, as many of our patients in the beginning were sadly transitioning. Although I haven’t spent as much time with them as I would like, I still feel as though a relationship was made. My patient and I were quiet together, as she was not very conscious/aware, and I feel as though I made a connection with her caregiver as well. I appreciated the quiet time together because it made me feel calm and less pressure to ask questions or maintain conversation. She smiled a lot, and I could tell she was a very sweet woman, especially from what her son told me.
I feel I have grown a lot in the course of this Hospice experience, even with the difficulty in finding a consistent patient in the beginning. Right off the bat, watching the documentary Being Mortal was completely eye opening to a side of medicine I truthfully hadn’t thought about. Especially in western medicine, the focus is always on finding a “cure” and taking a very pragmatic approach to care. Learning how destructive that can be towards the patient and the quality of life they experience was eye-opening. I have completely changed my perspective on patient care following that documentary and realized how important it is for physicians to be open to hospice and the mindset of prioritizing quality of life. Additionally, I also think many young aspiring physicians can be nervous around patients. Whether it’s because they’re unsure how to approach the patient or just overall nerves, I think this program helps overcome those initial barriers that an individual may not expect when they’re in a care facility. Additionally, it exposes you to an array of cases and individuals that helps you understand the spectrum that is hospice care—an individual can be fully conscious, or not conscious at all. There is no blueprint patient for hospice.
I think this program is extremely valuable for a medical school application. Prior to this program, I was always very nervous around patients because of my social anxiety. With constant exposure to different people, or even in the Levine hospice house, I felt myself grow increasingly comfortable just as an individual in the space. I feel like this program also really helped me grow as an individual. I don’t think many people know how lonely it can be as an elderly person, especially those with only one or two caregivers. I realized this myself, when I spoke to a caregiver and they were so relieved I was visiting, or else their mom would have been alone for that week since they themselves couldn’t make it. This program helped me open my eyes to a different side of life, and towards a perspective that really prioritizes the patient above all else. I feel like I learned so much throughout the process, more than I ever thought I would get the chance to. Additionally, just being in different settings of clinical care is so important as well. You see different sides of medicine and patient care and can really envision how your version of patient care could look like as a future physician.